Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Life

    Year in review: ‘Minimal genome’ makes its debut

    A synthetic cell reported this year jettisons unnecessary genes and embraces human design principles.

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  2. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Alzheimer’s drug may clarify disease’s origins

    Researchers will now test whether a treatment that swept away amyloid brain plaques also improves cognitive performance.

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  3. Oceans

    Readers contemplate corals and more

    Coral engineering, ancient almanacs and more in reader feedback.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    The fight against infectious diseases is still an uphill battle

    The fight against infectious diseases is far from over. The last several decades have seen many outbreaks and global pandemic scares.

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  5. Ecosystems

    Oyster deaths linked to ‘atmospheric rivers’

    Atmospheric rivers bring strong storms that could have been behind a 2011 California oyster die-off.

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  6. Earth

    Fossil microbes show how some life bounced back after dino-killing impact

    Pioneering microbes colonized the waters above the Chicxulub crater within hundreds of years following the impact, new research shows.

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  7. Life

    Zika induces brain cell die-off

    Cell biologists are learning more about how the Zika virus disrupts brain cells to cause microcephaly.

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  8. Life

    Cell biologists learn how Zika kills brain cells, devise schemes to stop it

    Cell biologists are learning more about how the Zika virus disrupts brain cells to cause microcephaly. Meanwhile, several strategies to combat the virus show preliminary promise.

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  9. Life

    Disabling enzyme could block Zika

    Disrupting a key Zika enzyme shows preliminary promise.

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  10. Paleontology

    Dinosaur tail preserved in amber, with feathers

    The tail of a dinosaur trapped in amber includes both feathers and identifiable bits of bone.

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  11. Life

    Cells avoiding suicide may play role in spread of cancer

    A newly discovered process can pull cells back from the brink of death.

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  12. Genetics

    Epigenetic marks may help assess toxic exposure risk — someday

    Exposure to things in the environment may change chemical tags on DNA and proteins, but it’s still unclear how to use that data to assess health risks.

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